Last week found me and Mr Cooper a little fatigued from enjoying a sociable January.
 'Let's cut down our social activities to just one event per weekend,'   I suggested to Mr Cooper.  He was happy to agree, as long as we also include a trip to the pub on Friday evening, plus a Sunday roast, and perhaps a visit to the pictures.

Our one social event to prepare for was to have Sarah and Gareth over on Saturday night for dinner, and a sleepover.  (Without horror movies, pop corn and doing each others hair, I hasten to add).
In an effort to keep things easy and simple on the catering front I decided that our starter, 'Onions a la Greque' should be prepared the day before.  Another real benefit of this dish is that it is served cold.  Then I felt it needed bread to go alongside, which really should be homemade. Is this meal beginning to lose its simplicity?  Just have faith in both a seasoned bread-maker and recipe book reader.

Friday morning found me excitedly purchasing my new camera from The London Camera Exchange in Chichester.  I am so pleased with the help and good advice that I received from the experts there, and although I am also so pleased with my purchase ( a Panasonic DC-FZ82), I know that I will be even more thrilled when I gradually learn how to use all it has to offer, which is a great deal!  At the moment, when at home, the 'basic operating instructions book' is never far from my side.
Friday evening found me definitely more in my comfort zone, as I was mixing together the five ingredients for 'Fleur Kelly's Roman loaves.'  Saturday morning saw me baking the same into two large and wondrous loaves.
These are really the most easy loaves to make, and delicious with just butter.
I did draw the line at catching, then milking, a cow, leaving the milk overnight for the cream to rise, churning the cream into butter etc.  But at least I knew what needed to be done, should the need ever arise.  Also, I would have needed a couple of pigs to feed the buttermilk to, to avoid wastage.

 The recipe for Fleur Kelly's Roman loaves comes from a book that I was given for Christmas in 1992, and have used many times since then, as can be seen!  The description on the front does not lie, as it really does contain 'over 250 delicious recipes for penniless cooks'.
 Even if you are feeling affluent, this book is a winner.

Below is the bread recipe written by Fleur Kelly, whose proper job is as a fresco artist.  If you visit St Hubert's, the beautiful but isolated church at Idsworth in Hampshire, you will find evidence of this in the form of a large fresco which she was commissioned to do, to celebrate the new millennium.
http://www.hampshire-history.com/st-huberts-church-idsworth/

We had a very enjoyable Saturday evening, the four of us together, part of which involved planning a couple of walks for when the weather is more clement.  One walk is to include a trip to St Hubert's, which Sarah and Gareth have yet to visit.  We could take sandwiches for a picnic there, using bread from the Roman loaf of course, or we could just live life on the edge, and stop for lunch in a pub along the way.  Putting on walking boots and gaiters does make one rather reckless, you know!

Monday morning found me less tired than I had been the previous one, as I arrived for the 10 o'clock handicraft group at Andover 'Mind'.  We have been involved with a project to make  papier mache boxes this year, and this morning found a couple of people coming to the end of this activity.

Here is the first completed box, beautifully decorated both inside and out...

......and with a matching lid.  A good creative start to the New Year.

I very much enjoy working with this group, as we all come to life through creativity and chatting first thing on a Monday morning.  For some of us, facing a new day let alone a new week is a very real struggle, and it is so good to be involved in using creativity as a very positive tool.

I must warn you now as I do feel a little rant coming on here, which has nothing to do with the group above, apart from a conversation I heard there, and in so many other places throughout my life too.
Weight-loss was the topic, which led to one woman saying how much it cost to eat 'proper' food.
Like the wise 'sunny weather' woman I am, I decided that it was not the right place place to state my views, so remained serenely smiling, outside the weather house.  When really, I was ready to jump right out of the weather-house, proclaiming what I felt to be right, whilst probably bashing any disbelievers into submission with my bunch of flowers, or at least to wave them round manically.

 I create with my art, and also through cooking, and I strongly feel that people need a creative outlet to get a better energy flow in their life, as well as other important things like good nutrition and exercise and sufficient funds.
 I started cooking at a very early age, and am a firm believer in using recognisable ingredients to produce fresh food. Too many people say they 'haven't time' to cook, or 'cannot afford fresh vegetables and meat'.  It is so wrong to enter a shop only to see bags of biscuits, cakes and doughnuts for £1, 2 packs of hot cross buns for £1 and the like, when fresh fruit and vegetables are pricey by comparison.  It is so wrong that we are not taught to cook using fresh and affordable ingredients from almost day one at home and at school.  If you can't cook and have very little money, of course cheap and ready-made foods will be what you will buy.  Processed foods are our nutritional enemy, and a social one too. (Nearly done now)
It is so wrong that we have ended up in a civilisation where cheap, unhealthy food is both very much to the fore, and acceptable.  It is also so wrong that lots of people haven't the means to access making cheap and nutritious food, having had no help from their own up-bringing and education, for whatever reason.
 I will change the subject now, and temporarily lower my flowers and return the my place smiling serenely, in the sunny doorway of the weather-house.

What about a complete change of subject here with couple of photos containing no hidden agenda?
Last week I was talking about my brief appearances as a model, at the Cloudhopper fashion show.  Today whilst waiting from another call from the insurance company I started to do a little 'tidying' on the computer.  As well as deleting some images, I found ones to keep and treasure, including some recording my only too brief modelling career..

Here is my 'Prawn Cocktail' apron appearing at the Cloudhopper Gallery,

Here I am demonstrating  that after having produced amazing, fresh, nutritious foods you then need to create unique and wearable outfits to celebrate them.  In this case, lino-cuts printed onto fabric, which is then used to make an over-the-top apron.  Perhaps my response to food could be described as over-the-top by some.

The one below really does have no hidden agenda, as I purely served as a model for this video tape dress and hair decoration.  The creator of the dress is wearing the red and black outfit, and the garment has nothing to do with food (unless it was made with videos of cookery programmes?)

Staying in a more cultural vein, this week's book is pictured below. It is a fictionalised account of a true event, and describes the months that Van Gogh spent in an institution and the relationships he formed whilst there, with one woman in particular. I stopped reading it for a while when I was about a third of the way through the book, as it was becoming a little difficult to continue.
Not at all because it was badly written, it is beautifully written, but because the story was becoming increasingly more sad, and seemed unlikely to get happier..

When I returned to it, to complete it, it unfolded into such an uplifting book that at the end I felt replete with both happiness and hope, especially as the main character was a woman in her mid-fifties
who was given a fresh burst of life.  Her same life, but with many positive changes. (For instance, she stops buying microwave burgers, and has wholemeal bread and raw vegetables for lunch...I jest!)

Well, I jest about the burger bit, you will have to read it to find out the truth about the raw vegetables.  If you are at all interested in Van Gogh, and also the life of women in the past in their mid-fifties, this is a really good choice for you.
I hasten to add here that life with Mr Cooper is every day a burst of new life, filled with happiness and hope.  Well, perhaps not quite every day, that would be too tiring.

Moving on in an artistic way, Van Gogh gives way to Paul Klee.  Monday mornings find me at Andover 'Mind, and Monday afternoons at Trinity in Winchester, where Ali leads an art group for the women's service there.  Since the start of the year, we have been looking at the life and work of Paul Klee, and on Monday we began to consider our own compositions, inspired by his work.

This is my response, which was very rewarding to do.  It sort of resembles a journey to Andover where I am keeping an eye out for the first snowdrops, whilst also looking forward to cooking red cabbage at the end of the day.  All true!  You can see the red cabbage appearing in the bottom left. I think my style of art is what is called 'narrative'.  Only a little bit of raw food ingredients appear in this piece, you will be thankful to learn.

Some people feel uneasy when shown art that they feel they don't understand, but Ali is excellent at explaining different periods of art, and makes many different concepts more familiar to us.
Last week I was given my 'Secret Santa' present from 'The Greyhound'.  Strangely enough, I work in the kitchen there.....
I unwrapped it in my break whilst having a cup of tea with George.  What could it be?  It was rather like exploring a piece of modern art.

Could it be a holder for a candle?

Or is it an eggcup for a breakfast egg?

No, it is actually a very attractive holder for my rings and things.
Luckily when we were burgled, none of my colourful mainly plastic jewellery was stolen, which was most of it.
I think it looks very pretty doing its proper function, though it did suit the improper ones too!

I hope this finds you all enjoying the start of your weekend.  When you go shopping, just add a few more vegetables to your shopping than you have planned, plus a piece of adventurous fruit.  Even better, plan to share them with your friends.
I am cooking for just Mr Cooper this weekend, as we are enjoying a weekend away from socialising, apart from with each other, of course!
Happy slicing and chopping, and I look forward to seeing you all again in a week or two.

Before I start rambling on about my life which I share with Mr Cooper, let me first say a big thank you to everyone who sent me a lovely message last week.  They were so uplifting.  So much so that when I was emerging from my weather house, it was to see a rainbow above, a carpet of flowers before me and bluebirds flying around!  Such a good start to the New Year.

As January can be a dismal month, and one that is often endured not enjoyed, me and Mr Cooper decided to be very sociable during this one.  Well, I did, and Mr Cooper would have agreed with me but he was moaning about the bad weather/dark nights too much.
We had a lovely start to being sociable during January's first weekend, enjoying the company of the Lemons and the McDougalls, with culture and pubs adding to our social weekend.  The only downside being that I needed to be recuperating during the week, and not working!
But if I thought that that weekend was socially busy, just wait to you hear about the weekend that has just gone.  And before any of that, here is a taste of the one to come, where we are aiming to have only one social engagement (plus the usual Friday night in the pub, of course.  This week, The Sussex Brewery, aka The Sausage Pub.  They welcome locals there!)

Each Christmas my brother Mark receives a beautifully large panettone as a gift from his bosses.  Each year Mark gives me this delightful object, and for the last two years I make a pudding from the panettone, and invite Sarah and Gareth round for a pudding-based dinner, as they also love this Italian speciality.  There was one year when Mr Cooper went skiing after Christmas, and Sam and I had a panettone feast one night, just the two of us, but that did not resemble a dinner party in any way at all.  There was far less washing up to do, and we had to get the hoover out.

Here is the 'panettone dolce frutta' which forms the climax of this weekend's feast.  It is the 'frutta' bit that Mark doesn't like.  One man's meat is indeed another man's poison.

I do hope you notice the appearance of a cheeky flamingo, they seem to reside in almost every room.

Before I really get into my 'rambling' stride, let's just pause for a quick burst of culture.
This book caught my eye in the library, from the 'new books' section.  For me, it is a great section to visit, as I can almost always choose a book or two from there, and one which I wouldn't necessarily have chosen otherwise.

After reading the back of it, I was greatly encouraged to add it to my many borrowings.

When I finished reading the book, it was like having watched a very good film.  You needed a moment to sit and digest what you had just seen, and also to enjoy the sensation of having been part of something very good, whether happy or sad.  This book was written about a man not much older than one of my grandparents, and among other things it made me reflect on how harsh life used to be.  I am in no way implying that life today is a bed of roses, but for lots of us, our physical day to day existence is a lot less hard.  Today is my only day this week that is mine to fill as I chose, which is wearing my combats, relishing the fact that for once I don't have to leave the house until my evening exercise classes.  This morning I will write this blog whilst also receiving calls about our insurance claim, and this afternoon I hope to start a textile art project.  In between these activities, I will partake of a little light luncheon and enjoy half an hour with my current book.
 That doesn't sound too bad at all, does it?  And all in a nice warm house.

Rambling onwards again, after the brief cultural interlude.  Last Friday saw me and Mr Cooper and son John heading off to visit Mum.  We paused at our usual hostelry in Turweston near Brackley, The Stratton Arms, where we enjoyed lunch.  John, as usual, didn't agree with our choices until later, when he bought a pie to eat in the car, as a sort of pudding after his cheesy chips.  There's no sense in eating at a table when you can leave pie debris over the back seat of someone else's car.
 Mr Cooper went for starters and main course, see below, and I enjoyed my usual packet of honey-roast peanuts, a real treat.  Not every pub does them, you know.

Then onwards again to Eye, and the weekend ahead.  After making up 5 beds for the Saturday arrivals, we sat down in the evening to enjoy pasta with a Bolognese sauce, which had been beautifully made by Mr Cooper.  Then I rummaged through Mum's hand-written recipes to find one that had been a favourite of the family, and also of my best friend Deborah's.  It was proving tricky to track down, until Mum remembered where her little red recipe book was, which was amazingly enough where it should be.

This recipe for 'Joan's rich chocolate cake' was the dessert to have at any special social occasion.  We never had it with an ordinary meal, but luckily when Deborah came for the day, it was regarded as a special occasion.  Sadly it fell out of favour with Mum when there was the salmonella scare, as the recipe does contain raw eggs.  It was speedily replaced by Delia's chocolate truffle torte, but this one has the edge, being even richer, and also less well-known.

Then, whoopee, Friday evening was spent with Deborah, where we chatted and laughed the time away.  A lot has happened to us both since we left school together in 1980, but when we meet all the years just slip away.  It is so good to catch up with what is happening in our busy lives,  and not only to share problems but to also find the humour in some very difficult situations.  Thank you Deborah for another lovely evening, and  I am looking forward to the next one!
As usual on the morning after an evening with Deborah, Mum always says, 'Do you know I never realised before how attractive Deborah is' and all of us present look at each other, rolling our eyes.  As Mark once said, 'Why did you think Phillip wanted to come round when Deborah was visiting?'  We must have seemed a like couple of exotics, being 15 when Mark and Phillip were 12.  We were probably wearing navy blue mascara too, and 'Starry Eyes' eye-shadow, wow!

Mr Cooper seemed a little out of sorts on Saturday morning, but broke down under intensive interrogation.  It seemed that as he had cooked Friday night's meal, he was thinking that my son would have done the washing-up bit (he did clear the table, I hasten to add) and he was feeling saddened and cross that he hadn't.  'You've become a member of the 'saddened and cross' club', I said.  'It's been rather an exclusive club so far, as I have been the only member for around 17 years.'  Then I offered some caring and loving advice.  'You've just got to get on with it, and not let it spoil your and ours day', which he did. ( The 'get on with it bit', not the 'spoily' bit, thanks Mr Cooper, you're a star)

Mark joined us all on Saturday, even though we had not come apart. (Mr Cooper doesn't do all the bad jokes around here.) He brought with him Ella and Jem, and his lovely, fairly new still, girlfriend George. It is great to see Mark so happy, and I am not surprised that he is.  It is also good to see them both so happy together, a very good feature in a relationship!
We then went for a drive round our old haunts, visiting Holbeach St Marks and Gedney Drove End, where our grandparents had lived.  If I had had a camera, I would now be adding atmospheric views of the countryside, and perhaps even a helpful one of Mark and George looking happy, but hopefully later today the insurance company with give me the go-ahead to buy a replacement.*
Saturday evening saw us enjoying a feast in Mattoni's, the Italian restaurant conveniently close to Mum's, and Sunday saw us departing, after having done some gutter-clearing.

When we got back to The Gables, our holiday atmosphere dispersed a little, as we were met with an electronic beeping.  Having tracked down the culprit, the carbon monoxide alarm, we then found that the beeping meant that it had come to the end of its life.  Well, it may well have done, but it wasn't giving up without a fight!  We couldn't throw a battery-laden, still beeping device into the bin, but removing both its voice and the batteries proved to be a challenge, but with a satisfactory conclusion.

I won't bore you with the rest of our Sunday activities, as we acted remarkably like a no-longer young couple with a dislike of technology.  Talking together over a meal at a table formed part of the evening, as did watching Countryfile.  I did warn you!  Featured on Countryfile was an elderly female farmer, who had won the award for 'Farmer of the Year'.  When asked what advice she would impart to up and coming youngsters, it was to 'get up early, and just keep going', which chimes so happily with my mantra, ' just keep buggering on'.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw this small article in our village magazine, and turned up to their monthly meeting.  I was warmly welcomed, and also took along a project to start, which had been on the back burner for a couple of years now.

Having started to customise a camouflage jacket during the meeting, I am now having to make significant progress before the next meeting, which will form part of this afternoon's activities.  Working with textiles as an art-form reminded me of the three years, around this time of year, that I modelled my art garments as part of the Cloudhopper Gallery's annual art fashion show.  Sadly the gallery is no longer in existence, but here is a photo of me and Mr Cooper proving that you can still be happy together after many years, and just before I change to model my Prawn Cocktail apron, followed by modelling a dress made with cassette tape, created by another artist.
 Mr Cooper is holding my camera which is sadly no longer with us, the three of us were so happy together for 14 years....

I miss the Cloudhopper Gallery, and all the events I was part of there, but life continues to change.  Hopefully I am still able to go with the flow, rather than to try to resist change ( apart from certain advances in technology, and a worrying faith people seem to have in social meeja)

I hope you have a week or so ahead of you when you also feel free to embrace change (I will allow you to have a cross outburst first, before embracing) and also where you try to add a social aspect to January.  It really does change the feel of the month, even if it does leave you feeling rather tired!  Well, perhaps that is just a side effect of being 'no longer young'.  Or perhaps I should just try to limit just how much you can fit into the weekend.  Having said that, me and Mr Cooper are already having to include Friday as an honorary member of the weekend, we have just so much to fit in to it.
So go with the flow, pacing yourself if necessary, and I look forward to being with you all again soon, in the next week or so.

* I got confirmation that my camera is to be replaced at 4.10 this afternoon, hurrah!  Funds for such to arrive shortly into my bank account.
Now let's get the rest of it sorted.

Me and Mr Cooper have successfully survived another Festive Season, with Christmas Eve being a bit like the finishing post, and the 5 weeks leading up to it as sort of 3-legged marathon race combined with an obstacle course.  After having managed to reach the finishing post, producing a fine feast daily for eight days, then washing up and prepping for the next production seemed almost like a picnic (but not quite, I hasten to add.)

Preparing for Christmas always brings its added stresses and strains, plus a liberal sprinkling of sparkly magic, but this year, far less sparkly magic was sprinkled from above, whilst the stresses were more than doubled.

Perhaps because of all this, me and Mr Cooper developed a tendency to act like one of those old-fashioned weather houses, where a man comes outside if wet weather is on the cards, and a woman if the weather is changing to warmer and sunnier.

I do possess a few of these weather houses as I love them, alongside snow-globes, and cake decorations for Christmas cakes.
 In fact one year I created two cakes that celebrated my love of Christmas cake art, here is my
Father Christmas collection, gaily cavorting on an iced cake tin.

And here is combined my love of Christmas cake decorations and Sam's love of  Lego. These sit proudly atop of an iced baked beans tin.

 
 In fact, although it seems a very long time since I painted anything (the three-legged marathon struggle put paid to all of that) I did paint a significant artwork a long while ago, based on the idea of the weather house.  This is it (or almost all of it, as a slice of the top is missing) and is  called
'The Mistress.'

I have never been anyone's mistress, but this painting is about a time where I was percieved as one by people who didn't know me, and painting the situation helped to paint away the grief and frustrations of that time.  This is one way that I use art, purely for self-expression, and surprisingly enough, no-one wants to buy my more intimate and autobiographical paintings.

Personally, I have always thought that 'Daughter of a Great White Hunter' would cheer up anyone's dining room, or perhaps even the nursery?  Perhaps even in the hallway to greet you.

Yes, its true, I do jest.  But if you really are looking for a charming and cheerful nursery painting, look no further than 'How Does Your Garden Grow'  No angst here, just cheerful flowers in the sun, based on a nursery rhyme and not my own dark imaginings.

Anyway, back to the theme of the weather house.  There is Mr Cooper, representing the man who emerges to predict rain, and me, the woman who dashes out at the first sign of sun.  Which is more or less true of the two of us working together when alone.  Mr Cooper loves a party and loves company, and is fabled for his jokes, merriment and mirth.  Alone with me, on a inclement day, be it winter or summer, he can have a distinctly gloomy outlook.  Starting with loud expletives that signal he is awake and having to get up, there follows a positive tirade against the whole weather system and living in England when he reaches the window, followed by  general moaning about his ailments, lack of money etc etc. Usually, I dash forwards in my weather-woman role, to cast a brighter picture on the day, our lives, living in England, having lots of things besides money, ageing, etc.
 But being continually cheerful in the face of adversity is somewhat draining.

Here is my representative, being up-beat.

But as November and December set in, Mr Cooper appeared more and more at the door of the weather house, and with very good reason.
As November and December progressed, and the dreaded illnesses set in, Mr Cooper succumbed to his usual chest infection, combined with sinusitis and many other things.  I was left inside the weather house as Mr Cooper was standing outside, feeling really ill, fed-up and moaning about the world.
I emerged from the weather house when I left my house, to do my usual working week, putting on a smiley face.
 In December, all of the social events we had planned had to be cancelled due to ill health.
 'Oh well', I said as I temporarily appeared at the door in the weather-house, 'I like watching TV on Friday and Saturday evenings.' Or   'Who wants to go to boring old theatre, or meet friends for dinner?' The smiles and appearances also got harder as December  brought with it lots of house viewings, plus strong interest from two people,  which was followed by deep disappointment, twice.  It became harder to shoot out of the weather house, to say 'I see better weather on the horizon, even if it is raining now.'

But things improved, as they usually do.
Mr Cooper slowly got better, and the Christmas preparations slowly unfurled.
Then one day, the first time that Mr Cooper had left the house for 3 weeks (apart from the five doctors appointments and also the five viewings of our house) he rang me at work, to say that in his absence we had been burgled, and that our house was in a terrible state.

I left immediately for home (thanks chefs for your kindness then, and later)  almost sick with worry, imagining all we had, and perhaps now hadn't, 
It was a terrible thing for Mr Cooper to have walked into, and just before he walked in, the thieves left through the back door, leaving when they heard his car on the drive.  Luckily, as he had disturbed them, they took far less than they had intended.  All the wrapped Christmas presents had been placed in a large bag ready in a bag for removal, and there were our holiday cases lying open on our bed ready to receive more of our belongings.
 But in the chaos that used to be our bedroom, it was hard to tell what was left, and we were unable to find out until the police, then the scene of crime specialist had left, hours later.

Yes, we did lose a significant amount of items, but nowhere near as much as a) I had imagined on the journey over and b) we were going to, if Mr Cooper hadn't returned when he did.  So now the weather house was in turmoil, as we were both trying to be the one in the open.  Mr Cooper was outside, saying how awful it was, and how deeply upset and angry he was, and then I would emerge during a pause, to say that it could have been a whole lot worse.  I mean, they hadn't found my stash of Irregular Choice shoes, including this year's Christmas specials!

You must excuse the quality of some of the photos however, as they did take my treasured camera!

So the run up to Christmas was spent doing the usual activities, plus making a list of all the items that had been stolen, and then having to research to find their replacement value.  Many thanks at this point for the kindness of friends who offered support, and accommodation, your love and kindness was very much appreciated.
Luckily we did not need to live anywhere else, as the very next day a 'workman' came to make our house secure.

This feature really helped to set-off our festive wreath.

Then there came a day when Mr Cooper emerged triumphantly from his weather house to say, 'I'm feeling a lot better, hurrah!'  Then he looked round for me, as he hadn't done for quite a while, to find that I was now refusing to emerge from the house to be positive.  In fact, I needed fresh hankies passing in, to mop up the flow of tears.  But when Christmas came, we were both standing in our doorways, greeting the world side by side.
 The whole experience must have aged us greatly, for this was posted through our door!

Is this really how we are perceived?
And is Mr Cooper slowly changing into a clone of Jeremy Corbyn?
Time to work on our image!

Now that we have emerged from illness and gloom, I decided that January was a good time to get out and about, and socialise.  Last weekend we peaked by having 3 social engagements, including one to see the Kaffe Fasset exhibition at Mottisfont Abbey with our good friends the Lemons,

Followed by a lovely relaxing Sunday lunch with more good friends, the McDougalls.

The whole weekend was both fun and uplifting, but I did need to go back to work for a rest!

 I wish you all a Happy New Year, with lots of good health sprinkled into the mix.
If you have to be uplifting at some time in the coming year, don't forget also to  be uplifting to yourself.  Keep those 'positive' batteries well charged with exercise, lots of vegetables, and most of all, time spent with your friends and family who love you.
 And do whatever else you need to do to emerge as Mrs Sunny Weatherperson.

On another positive note, we have sent our claim form away, and the door-repairers returned to replace the temporary fixture with a much better one, whilst the leaded glass is repaired properly.

As my dad would have said, 'It's a cracker!'  Mr Cooper seems to have a more extensive vocabulary!
Looking forward to being with you all again soon, and sharing with you what the fresh year brings.
Don't forget to eat more vegetables!